Iraq War veteran Ashwin Madia (D), running in the open-seat race to replace retiring Rep. Jim Ramstad (R), announced Monday that he raised $692,900 in the second quarter of the year — less than a week after state Rep. Erik Paulsen (R) announced he raised $600,000 in the same time period.

The race in the suburban Twin Cities district is shaping up to be one of the most expensive and competitive in the country. The 3rd district gave President Bush 51 percent of the vote in 2004, though Ramstad, a political moderate, always held on to the seat by large margins.

Paulsen, however, still had a cash-on-hand advantage with $1.1 million in the bank as of June 30, compared with Madia’s $738,000. And Paulsen has also raised more throughout the entire campaign, about $1.3 million, than Madia, who collected $1.1 million since October.